Lesson 13: Elite means making other people better
Here’s a short excerpt from my 2nd book, “107 Lessons from Pro Sports to Go From Normal to Exceptional” (final title TBD, but this sounds good so far).
The best way to determine whether or not someone has it in them to become elite is to figure out if they do, or are capable of, making the people around them better.
You can be a very, very good player, but if you don't have it in you to elevate the game of those around you, your ceiling is capped.
The good news is, many of the behaviors that involve getting other people better are skills you can learn to execute.
These include things like:
Cheering for your teammates
Holding other people accountable
Learning other people's assignments and backing them up
Taking responsibility for your part in the team's performance
These are often the first things to go when the team is losing, when things are hard, or adversity strikes.
Ironically, these are also the times when we need these actions most. It's the challenging times that determines what the team, and what each individual player, is fully capable of.
Though none of these is particularly complicated or complex, it's probable that you've been around plenty of people who never did any of these things.
How you show up and help (or don't help) make your teammates better reflects your own capacity to go from alright to elite.
Identify a simple behavior you can do that makes the people around you better.
P.S…
In a few weeks, I’ll be turning this newsletter into a paid experience.
I will still have some free notes each week, but the majority of the good stuff will be behind the paywall.
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